Chronicling the 90s: How NHL jerseys became mainstream | amNewYork

"At that point, [the Islanders] viewed themselves as kind of a failed franchise that had not won a Stanley Cup in a decade and was coming down from this period of great success, said Nick Hirshon, the author of We Want Fish Sticks, which chronicles the Islanders' controversial rebranding, and a journalism professor at William Paterson University. And now the Rangers just won the Stanley Cup in that market, the Devils were on the up, and up, so maybe the Islanders could not afford a brand new arena or new players, but they could make some money by unveiling a new jersey."

"Across the NHL, a broader cultural shift was underway, as jerseys became more commonplace in the stands as fashion items. In the early 1990s, the league expanded into nontraditional hockey markets, each of which debuted uniforms that threw tradition out the window. The Panthers debuted the leaping cat; the San Jose Sharks introduced teal to the NHL's color palette."

In 1995, the New York Islanders replaced their traditional blue and orange uniforms with the controversial Fisherman design. The franchise had struggled after winning four consecutive Stanley Cups in the early 1980s, culminating in an embarrassing sweep by the Rangers in 1994. Seeking to improve their public image and generate revenue, the Islanders hired Sean Michael Edwards Design, Inc., which had previously worked with expansion franchises like the Florida Panthers and Toronto Raptors. This rebranding coincided with a broader NHL cultural shift in the early 1990s, as the league expanded into nontraditional markets with unconventional uniforms featuring cartoon-like logos and bold color choices, including the Panthers' leaping cat and the Sharks' introduction of teal.

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